Goal Rules

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The Goal Rules feature provides Portal Administrators a means to automatically assign learners their Accreditation or Course goals based on any combination of user profile attributes or training status. They can run rules on a scheduled basis or execute rules on-demand. Automated messages inform learners and their managers of new assignments each day.

This document explains how to use the Goal Rules Setup Wizard to define user criteria, select one or more training goals, name the Goal Rule, and schedule it for processing. The wizard guides portal administrators through each step of the rule creation process, providing simple navigation options and ensuring correct configuration along the way.

Note for Goals related to Accreditations: While the existing Goal Transitions process is still available, Goal Rules make the process of assigning training goals easy to automate and maintain. When using Goal Rules to assign certifications or curricula to learners, it is not necessary to continue the use Goal Transitions to assign the same accreditations. You must also recognize the difference between Accreditation Rules (controlling the requirements needed to achieve an accreditation) and Goal Rules (controlling the assignment of the accreditation as a goal).
 
  • The users selected by the User Filter you create will only be assigned the Accreditation Goal if they belong to a Position Group associated with the Accreditation.
  • The Goal Rule scheduling date range only controls the length of time the assignment rule will run. The Accreditation-related rules and the Program to which the accreditation is associated must be active in order for the assignment to work.

Learn how managers can use the similar Assign Goals process to assign their employees personalized training plans by CLICKING HERE.
 

Add Goal Rule

To add a Goal Rule, navigate to the Administration menu >Manage Goals > Goal Rules, and then click +Goal Rule.
 
  1. Rule -- Name the rule. Provide a short description, notes describing the rule, or additional non-English translations as desired. Click Next.
     

     
  2. User Filter -- Define the criteria that make users eligible for accreditation or course goal assignment. This selection works like Advanced User Search and users who meet the stated selection criteria will be ultimately be assigned the Goal. Click Next.
  3. Preview -- Displays the current population of users who will be assigned the goal based on the criteria established in Step 2.  Preview the results and click Next to continue. Click Previous to refine user filters and view updated results until the list shows your expected results. Note: As new users are added or existing users change, the rule dynamically evaluates and updates goal assignments on the next scheduled or on-demand run.
  4. Training Goal -- Select a Goal Type. If the requirements are an accreditation, select Accreditation and choose one or more accreditations which comprise the goal. For Course Goals, select Course and choose one or more courses making up the goal that will then be assigned by the rule.
    -- Pay attention to Earliest Score Date (ESD). Prior credit for the course will not count toward the goal if it precedes this date. By default, the ESD is set to 1/1/2000. It must be updated to enforce a tighter completion window for achievement.  Earliest Score Date can be used to force loss of earlier goal achievement for all or some users. For instance, if a requirement for a course is annual and you loaded new content for the next year, setting a Course Goal's Earliest Score Date to the date you loaded the new content would cause everyone to lose their previous goal credit and they would be re-assigned the goal again to complete the new content. Note that the ability to enroll in the new course is still subject to course enrollment restrictions and in some cases, would be pending transcript expiration.
    -- Setting a Due Date requirement will allow graphic indicators and notifications to occur for users and managers when goal completion is past due.
    -- Click Next to continue.
  5. Schedule -- Enter the date range during which the rule is effective and select how frequently the rule should evaluate the user population against the rule criteria to update goal assignments. Daily, Weekly, and Monthly choices run via overnight processes. Using On Demand allows you to save the rule's criteria and goal settings, but run it whenever you wish rather than on a set schedule.
     

     
  6. Confirmation -- Review and confirm your rule setup. Click the step name or corresponding edit buttons to return to earlier steps and view detailed information. Click Save to complete the process. A message banner will display results.
     
 

Manage Goal Rules

Existing Goal Rules are displayed with standard action buttons: Run, Edit, Copy, Delete. Click +Goal Rule to add a new one.
 
 
  • Run a rule to evaluate user eligibility in real time and update training goals en masse.
  • Edit a rule to change the user definition, the goal definition, or schedule configuration.
  • Copy a rule to assign the same training goal to a new user population.
  • Delete a rule to remove both the rule itself and all goal assignments it generated from the system.

To retire a rule without deleting historical goals from the database, edit the goal and update the Schedule Range to inactivate it with an end date in the past. Schedule Range and Frequency can be used to configure training plans, then roll out assignments at a future date or on demand.
 

OPTIONS ONCE GOALS ARE ASSIGNED BY RULES

Goals assigned by rules cannot be deleted, only waived. Deletion of a rule-based goal would only cause the rule to re-assign the goal after its next scheduled or on-demand run. A waived goal remains on the student's record so that the scheduled rule does not reassign the requirement every time it runs.
 
  • Student users cannot waive goals generated by rules.
  • Managers may waive rule-generated goals for their employees if the Site Management > LMS Information setting for "Waive Team Goals" is enabled.
  • Portal administrators with full portal oversight can waive goals for anyone. They can restrict Goal Waiver to just portal administrators by disabling the "Waive Team Goals" setting.


When using goal rules and creating auto-enrollment from interests, it is important to understand that the automated process hinges upon the status of the goal assignment. As long as the user is seen as meeting the goal, they will not be re-assigned the goal. Therefore no new auto-enrollment can take place in that course, even if it is set to unlimited enrollment. To trigger re-assignment and subsequent auto-enrollment, the goal must be lost via transcript expiration and/or having the existing transcript score date falling outside the Earliest Score Date criterion.

The processes that turn goals into interests is now configured to run almost instantaneously after the goal is assigned for both Accreditation- and Course-based goals, regardless of whether they're assibned by rules or on an ad-hoc basis.

Once the interests are created, processing time into enrollments will vary depending on the queue of requests. Enrollments must go through standard eligibility checking to determine if the student qualifies to take the course.

 

Training Video